Who Is John C. Hitt? Meet The Man Behind The UCF Evolution.

Who Is John Hitt?

For a quarter century, President John C. Hitt worked to put UCF on the map. But who is the man behind the evolution?

Summer 2018 | By Laura J. Cole

If you 麻豆精品 S檙e looking for a traditional profile of a president, this isn 麻豆精品 S檛 it.

Chances are that if you 麻豆精品 S檝e lived in Central Florida at any point during the past 26 years, you 麻豆精品 S檝e heard about President John Hitt and what he 麻豆精品 S檚 done to transform UCF and the region.

In preparation for this article, I read and watched nearly two dozen features about Hitt. In almost all of them, he speaks at length about the people of UCF and what we 麻豆精品 S檝e all achieved together. He talks about the accomplishments he 麻豆精品 S檚 most proud of, how many students are enrolled here (now more than 66,000) and what they go on to achieve.

What I found less of is the man behind the curtain. He 麻豆精品 S檚 naturally private, perhaps the result of years of knowing it 麻豆精品 S檚 more important to talk about UCF than his life, knowing it makes it easier to accomplish what he wants. And, with the help of many people, he 麻豆精品 S檚 been able to achieve some pretty difficult things, many of which naysayers said UCF would never be able to.

During five interviews over the course of as many days in late March and early April, Hitt talked a good deal about UCF. He 麻豆精品 S檚 retiring from the presidency on June 30, and naturally he 麻豆精品 S檚 taking stock of the 26 years he 麻豆精品 S檚 spent leading the university 麻豆精品 S檚 growth. But in his office on the third floor of Millican Hall, he also opened up.

A colorized black and white photo of young white boy with blonde hair, blue eyes, and rosy cheeks wears a brown button-up shirt.

You could say to know someone, you need to know who they 麻豆精品 S檝e been.

To know Hitt, you 麻豆精品 S檇 have to go back to Houston in 1940 麻豆精品 S� the year he was born. On his first birthday, the Japanese dropped bombs on Pearl Harbor and changed the course of the United States 麻豆精品 S� involvement in the war.

As a result, while Hitt was still just a small child, his father and uncle made a pact that whoever wasn 麻豆精品 S檛 drafted would take care of the other 麻豆精品 S檚 family. Hitt 麻豆精品 S檚 father, a typographer and printer by trade, was the one who stayed behind. For several years, young John Charles grew up in a nice house with his cousin, Bill (who was only a month and two days younger than Hitt), his aunt and his parents. When his uncle returned, Hitt and his parents moved into a house of their own, a house that wasn 麻豆精品 S檛 as nice or as big as that house with Bill, but it was a good house in a decent part of town.

In Texas in the 1950s, the legal driving age was 14. 麻豆精品 S淣ot the most sensible, if you think about being 14 and driving, 麻豆精品 S� Hitt says. But still, only a year later, he would become the man of the household when his father died of a heart attack, leaving him and his mother behind.

A black and white photo of a young, shirtless, white boy sitting next to an older white man, who has his arm around the younger boy, on the steps.

Hitt didn 麻豆精品 S檛 think about it at the time, but his mother was a remarkable woman. She was someone who, when people told her she couldn 麻豆精品 S檛 do something, would say, 麻豆精品 S淔or a quarter, you can watch. 麻豆精品 S�

As a bindery worker, she met her husband because they were both in the same business: printing. And in the 1950s, when it was less common for women to have professions, she not only worked in but also ran the family business.

Hitt grew up working in that shop. Before he passed away, his father had Hitt work weekends. He may have been the owners 麻豆精品 S� son, but he didn 麻豆精品 S檛 get all the glory work. On Saturdays, for example, it was Hitt 麻豆精品 S檚 responsibility to melt the used linotype 麻豆精品 S� lines of words in single strips of metal 麻豆精品 S� in a big, old iron pot, and pour it into 25-pound ingots.

麻豆精品 S淔or a good while, I thought I wanted to learn enough about running the printing shop so I could take that over for mom, 麻豆精品 S� Hitt says. 麻豆精品 S淎nd based on some suggestions I had from others, I thought for a little while about becoming a minister. I don 麻豆精品 S檛 have the personality for that, so that ended that. 麻豆精品 S�

What he never thought of becoming while growing up 麻豆精品 S� what he had no concept of even being a profession 麻豆精品 S� was a university president. The idea of college was foreign to Hitt. His mother had finished high school but had never gone to college. And his father didn 麻豆精品 S檛 have the choice to go, as he had to drop out of high school and work to pay for his mother 麻豆精品 S檚 medical bills when she became ill.

A black and white photo of man in academic regalia, including cap, gown and hood, standing next to an older woman.

But Hitt 麻豆精品 S檚 mom would push him to go to college because it was his father 麻豆精品 S檚 dream, and dreams are worth pursuing.

And so in 1958, Hitt enrolled in Austin College, a small, private liberal arts college, more than 300 miles away from his home and his mother and everyone he knew in Houston. There, he played football, met the professor who would change the trajectory of his career and fell in love with the woman who would become his wife.

Growing up, Hitt was a big kid, which in Texas meant not only that you played football but also that you played tackle. When asked to describe how he was as a player, he replies, 麻豆精品 S淥ne word: mediocre. 麻豆精品 S� But there was that one great game. His team was trailing, and he had gotten so annoyed with the opposing player who kept holding him that he ran right through him and tackled the quarterback, forcing a fumble. Hitt 麻豆精品 S檚 teammate recovered the ball, and the Austin College Kangaroos won the game.

When Hitt started at Austin College, he didn 麻豆精品 S檛 know what he wanted to study, but one semester he needed a course, so he signed up for a psychology class because he 麻豆精品 S檇 heard the professor was a good lecturer. It was a big class for the small school 麻豆精品 S� maybe 40 to 50 students, by Hitt 麻豆精品 S檚 estimate. That professor would impact Hitt 麻豆精品 S檚 life in ways he hadn 麻豆精品 S檛 expected.

麻豆精品 S淲hat we tell one another about those experiences between professors and students happens to be true, 麻豆精品 S� Hitt says. 麻豆精品 S淚t was a life-changing experience. Bill [Angermeier] and I were master and apprentice, essentially, and he encouraged me to go to graduate school. He was a major force for good in my life. 麻豆精品 S�

Suddenly, Hitt knew what he wanted. He wanted to be like Angermeier, the man who gave him the opportunity to work in his lab and assist him on research projects. Angermeier became his mentor, encouraging Hitt to pursue a master 麻豆精品 S檚 and doctorate in physiological psychology. He was also Hitt 麻豆精品 S檚 best man at his wedding and a lifelong friend.

A close-up portrait of an older main wearing wireframe glasses.

麻豆精品 S淚n those days [the early 麻豆精品 S�60s] you did not develop friendships with students, 麻豆精品 S� said Angermeier in an article from 1997. 麻豆精品 S淸But] I would say we were friends. It was mutual admiration. He liked me as a good teacher. I liked him as a good student. 麻豆精品 S� I guess you could say I liked him best. 麻豆精品 S�

It was also at Austin College that Hitt would meet Martha Halsted, the 麻豆精品 S渧ery pretty, green-eyed blonde. 麻豆精品 S�

The first time they saw each other, Hitt had gone to Martha 麻豆精品 S檚 dorm to pick up a date. Martha was by the desk where students had to check in and out. Back then, such things were required for female co-eds.

麻豆精品 S淚 looked at him and said, 麻豆精品 S極h, he 麻豆精品 S檚 tall. He 麻豆精品 S檚 good-looking. He has beautiful blue eyes. Too bad he 麻豆精品 S檚 so young, 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� she says.

Martha, after all, was a junior. Hitt was only a freshman. Hitt remembers seeing her again later in line at the cafeteria and thinking, 麻豆精品 S淲ow, that 麻豆精品 S檚 a good-looking gal. 麻豆精品 S�

Eventually, they ended up in a small speech class together. They got to know each other and dated for months before breaking up, as young couples often do. They were alike in so many ways 麻豆精品 S� both were only children 麻豆精品 S� but also so different.

麻豆精品 S淚 was a not-very-good football player, and she was in the a cappella choir, 麻豆精品 S� Hitt says. 麻豆精品 S淗er dad was a petroleum geologist, and my dad had passed away. I was the first in the family to get a degree, and Martha had members of her family who had [degrees]. A lot of differences, but enough similarities to make it work. 麻豆精品 S�

The split was good for them. It made them realize there was something about the relationship that was worth pursuing. Within six months of breaking up, they were engaged.

They 麻豆精品 S檝e now been married for 56 years and have two children and two grandsons.

麻豆精品 S淪he 麻豆精品 S檚 been a wonderful, wonderful life partner, 麻豆精品 S� Hitt says.

In my interviews with Hitt, two subjects make him emotional: Martha and UCF.

He can 麻豆精品 S檛 imagine a life without her, an eventuality he 麻豆精品 S檇 rather not think about. And while he 麻豆精品 S檚 looking forward to being able to spend more time with his wife and their family, he 麻豆精品 S檚 also wistful about separating from a place he 麻豆精品 S檚 shepherded for more than a quarter of a century.

麻豆精品 S淵ou know, I think anyone who 麻豆精品 S檚 been in a job like mine for a lot of years would be excited to have some time to himself, but I think it 麻豆精品 S檇 be dishonest if I said, 麻豆精品 S極h, I don 麻豆精品 S檛 care. I 麻豆精品 S檓 ready to go, 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淧art of me would like to be staying, but I also know that 麻豆精品 S檚 not a reasonable thing to do. 麻豆精品 S�

Hitt 麻豆精品 S檚 health and age played a role in why he decided to step down now. At 77, he 麻豆精品 S檚 still sharp mentally, never missing the opportunity to inject his signature wit, but he did have a heart attack a few years back. He 麻豆精品 S檚 made a full recovery, but he, naturally, worries about his health.

He also stepped down because 麻豆精品 S渋t was the right thing to do. 麻豆精品 S� The decision was not an easy one, but it was the one UCF needed.

At the time, the university was in a position to potentially lose its provost, Dale Whittaker, who, after a nationwide search earlier this spring, will become UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 fifth president on July 1.

麻豆精品 S淚麻豆精品 S檇 had a realization that was grounded in Dale 麻豆精品 S檚 looking at the Iowa State presidency, 麻豆精品 S� he says, twisting the gold Pegasus ring on his right hand. 麻豆精品 S淚麻豆精品 S檓 always trying to game in my mind how things will play out, and it seemed very unlikely that I could hire the kind of person we would want to replace him if I couldn 麻豆精品 S檛 say that I would be here three to five more years. And I just knew I couldn 麻豆精品 S檛 do that.

麻豆精品 S淚f you can 麻豆精品 S檛 do something that you know is likely to be necessary, 麻豆精品 S� he continues, 麻豆精品 S測ou ought to get out. Do I wish to this day that I could continue? Yeah. But I know I made the right choice. 麻豆精品 S�

Hitt has certainly received criticism for decisions made during his tenure, including ones he wasn 麻豆精品 S檛 involved in. Universities by trade are full of smart people trained to be critical thinkers, and anyone in a position of leadership, especially for more than two decades, will undoubtedly upset some people along the way. He admits he 麻豆精品 S檚 had to make difficult decisions, especially concerning budgets, which can impact not only people 麻豆精品 S檚 programs but also their livelihoods. But he always tried to base those decisions on what was best for UCF.

麻豆精品 S淎s a university president, you 麻豆精品 S檝e got to be known as someone who is trustworthy and reliable, and you have to have a sense of what really matters, 麻豆精品 S� Hitt says.

An older man stands in his office with a wide smile on his face. In front of him are three yellow labs and two black labs.

During our interviews, Hitt reminisces about what it means to be a leader and how who we are impacts what we do.

We don 麻豆精品 S檛 talk about it much in these interviews, but Hitt is someone who believes in America. He believes in its promise and potential. It 麻豆精品 S檚 a level of patriotism perhaps associated with a certain generation, but every day, Hitt places an American flag pin on his left lapel, just above a UCF pin, right above his heart.

He 麻豆精品 S檚 a man of faith. Both he and Martha are Episcopalians, and they 麻豆精品 S檙e eager to find a church in their new home of Madison, Wisconsin.

He 麻豆精品 S檚 a self-described old-school Democrat and a Rachel Maddow-watching news junkie.

He gets as excited about new technology as anyone you 麻豆精品 S檒l meet. His new home has two wireless sound systems, and he wears an Apple watch on his wrist and an iPhone in a holster on his hip. Every few seconds, they buzz with the notification of new emails and messages and events.

And he 麻豆精品 S檚 100 percent a dog person, admitting he knows he shouldn 麻豆精品 S檛 let London, a golden retriever-yellow lab mix, sleep in bed with him and Martha. But he does.

I tell you these things because they 麻豆精品 S檙e who Hitt is, but also to say this: In a nation that is deeply divided on many topics, Hitt sees these differences as a reason to work together.

麻豆精品 S淲e have an unusual situation here [at UCF], where people are much more likely to want to work together to solve a problem than they are to point fingers and want to fight, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淚麻豆精品 S檝e had the good fortune to discover that early on. That 麻豆精品 S檚 not to say that we always have harmony on everything.

麻豆精品 S淏ut you get into a lot of trouble when you start denying free speech or people 麻豆精品 S檚 civil rights, period, 麻豆精品 S� he continues. 麻豆精品 S淵es, many people are trying to push the agenda a certain way. But the best motivated among them is just saying, 麻豆精品 S楲ook, this ain 麻豆精品 S檛 working for me. 麻豆精品 S� Why would you refuse someone the right to speak up? They 麻豆精品 S檙e asking for respect. They 麻豆精品 S檙e asking for you to listen to their grievance. Why wouldn 麻豆精品 S檛 we? 麻豆精品 S�

A collage of photos of Hitt with his family over the years.

As we sit in his office, you can hear the beeps and rumblings of heavy equipment and the shouts of a construction crew.

The Reflecting Pond 麻豆精品 S� which you can see from the panoramic window in his office that looks out onto the John C. Hitt Library and horseshoe-shaped lawn 麻豆精品 S� is being renovated.

After being drained in October, the pond is being rebuilt. The concrete base was demolished, removed and resurfaced. The fountain got new plumbing and filtration, upgraded lighting and a more efficient plumbing structure. When more than 5,000 students and alumni charge into its aquamarine waters this fall during , it 麻豆精品 S檒l be ready.

麻豆精品 S淭hat Reflecting Pond out there, it 麻豆精品 S檚 a very special place for a lot of people, 麻豆精品 S� Hitt says, his blue eyes shining. 麻豆精品 S淭here were a lot of proposals of marriage made and accepted there. In the next few weeks, we 麻豆精品 S檙e going to have all these kids with their caps and gowns on, knee deep in the pond. It 麻豆精品 S檚 so iconic. 麻豆精品 S�

Admittedly, when Hitt became president of UCF in 1992, he didn 麻豆精品 S檛 realize how sentimental he 麻豆精品 S檇 become about a water feature. Then, the Reflecting Pond had only a single spigot, a far cry from today 麻豆精品 S檚 display. But as much as the main campus has changed since he started, his view of the Reflecting Pond has remained a constant.

Sure, the construction can be seen as one more way of reinforcing the common campus refrain that UCF stands for 麻豆精品 S淯nder Construction Forever. 麻豆精品 S� But, for many, it speaks to something that seems as inherent to UCF as it does to the city we call home: change, growth, evolution.

Some universities have been around for centuries. This fall, UCF will celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the first classes held on campus.

And for half of our history, Hitt has been leading 麻豆精品 S� and encouraging 麻豆精品 S� that reinvention.

A group of students rush into the water of the Reflecting Pond.